


sleepless

by Ochelle



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ochelle/pseuds/Ochelle
Summary: in which the night brings two fallen stars together





	

Waves crash against each other, steady and rhythmic, the only noise to be heard in the loneliness of the night. Pale moonlight glistens over the surface, sparkling and rippling, dancing along with the current and creating a performance for one.

Midori watches them, bare feet dug into the sand, a warm breeze rolling over him and tousling his hair. His chin rests upon his bare knees and his eyelids droop, body craving the very same sleep it’s been denying itself for so long.

It's always been like this-- sleep only comes when his mind lets it. Long nights of frustration and introspection, self hatred and anger and dark thoughts that threaten to suffocate are no stranger to this boy. At home he has a routine, a bed that’s comfortable, a mascot toy to hold and soothe his demons until the world blurs and fades into dreamland.

Chiaki, as always, planned Ryuseitai’s stay here without much warning-- he delivered a simple and concise motivational speech on how it’ll _“deepen their ties”_ and _“help them work together like the team they are”_ by the time of their scheduled live. Midori hardly had the chance to protest at the idea, let alone remember to pack everything before their departure.

If he’d just managed to remember to bring along one of the many stuffed mascots that lined his bed at home, perhaps the night would be more forgiving.

Midori sighs, arms snaking tighter around his legs as he breathes in the ocean air. As much as the sea has become a comfort, he wishes he weren't here. He wishes he was at home, alone, under the covers, surrounded by familiarity. He wishes a lot of things. Wishes he never joined Ryuseitai, wishes he wasn’t stupid enough to enroll in the wrong course in the first place, wishes he was dead--

“I didn't think you would still be awake, Midori-kun!”

Footsteps had been masked by Midori’s thoughts, and the sudden voice that carries to his ears startles him. His jaw hits against his knees hard, biting down painfully and suddenly on his tongue. He doesn't need to turn to recognize who it is.

“Sengoku-kun,” he mutters, the name feeling odd as his tongue aches against the roof of his mouth with every syllable, “It's not like it’s my choice…”

The other boy hums for a moment as if in thought, and Midori can feel the waves of anxiety rippling off of his body, matching the rhythm of the ones before them. “Would it be alright if I stayed here with you for a while, de gozaru?” he finally manages to get out, barely audible over the tide, “It’s fine if you say no!”

Midori offers in reply a noise that could be taken as a “Yes”, and Shinobu settles himself down beside him. Several beats pass in silence, the smaller boy crossing his legs and leaning back, fingers digging into the sand. The distance between them is obvious, both physically and mentally.

Midori is the one who reaches out first, doubting the other’s apprehension will allow him. “Can you not sleep either, Sengoku-kun?”

“Sleeping in new places has always been troublesome for me, de gozaru,” Shinobu replies with a shake of his head, “There’s no telling what could be hiding in the darkness!”

“Couldn't the same be said for your home...?”

“Not a chance, de gozaru!” A hand comes up from the sand to curl into a fist, held in front of his chest in an attempt to convey certainty and conviction. “A ninja’s home is sacred to them-- their rooms especially! Nothing gets in or out without me knowing first, de gozaru!”

The waves continue to lap at the shore, bright blue where the moonlight hits and deep purple where it doesn't. With a quick glance to the side, Midori can see Shinobu’s face. His pose is self-assured but his downcast eyes betray him, the expression lighting a flame of empathy in the taller’s chest.

Without thinking, he speaks.

“You shouldn't worry about that… You have the rest of us. If anything happens in that darkness, we could protect you...” He realizes this seems uncharacteristic but hardly cares, the barrier between thought and vocalization long gone with the 20th hour deprived of sleep. “There’s Tetora-kun and Morisawa-senpai… I’m sure even with as eccentric as Shinkai-senpai is, he’d leap into action…”

“What about you, Midori-kun?”

The question catches him off guard. It’s not like he mattered in the end, right? Chiaki had always been the best out of all of them, Tetora following not that far behind. Kanata had his own way of doing things that, as odd as they were, tended to work for the whole of them. Even Shinobu himself meant more to Ryuseitai than him, surely.

“I’m... no good with that sort of thing,” he mumbles, and it’s the truth. He didn’t even want to be in this unit in the first place, let alone become a burden to them. He feels himself sliding back into that self-loathing state, the beautiful sounds of the tide around him fading into his ugly thoughts. “If anything, I’d just make a mess...”

Midori steals another glance at the boy beside him. Something about the way he stares ahead with an expression that can’t quite be placed -- _anxiety? disappointment? sadness?_ \-- stirs up that same feeling of empathy within him as it did before. Or maybe it's something else. He can't tell.

His next words are sincere, which catches the both of them off guard.

“But… But I could make an exception. I’m not that good with taking care of myself... but I think I’d be able to protect you, too. If it came down to it, I mean.” A beat passes that matches his heart’s. The ocean sings out clearly to him. “No, I’d _want_ to protect you, Sengoku-kun. Maybe it wouldn’t be as well as everyone else, but if it stops you from making that face again, then...”

Shinobu turns abruptly to face Midori, moving closer, and the taller wonders if he’d been caught staring. Was he staring? Why would it matter? Hadn’t he basically just admitted that much?

Before long, a wide smile appears on his face. Moonlight begins to play tricks, making him true to his Ryusei namesake and illuminating him with the bright yellow flames of hope.

“That means a lot coming from you, Midori-kun, de gozaru!” he says, eye sparkling, hands finding the other boy’s and squeezing them tight, “Thank you! I'll make sure to protect you too, okay? If the time ever comes for it, just call for me, de gozaru! You can count on me!”

Night air continues to blow past them, nightshirts fluttering against their chests, and Shinobu’s hair flows along with it. Midori sees the smaller boy’s features in full for the first time since they met, lit by the light of the moon and his own determination. In his half conscious haze he's sure this warm feeling that’s been growing inside of him is the farthest thing from empathy. A prayer for the darkness to hide the blush that crawls along his face is thought as Shinobu tilts his head; bangs cover his face once more and break the spell, eyes closed, the boy making a small hum of happiness along with it.

“Yeah,” is what Midori breathes out after a long lull in the conversation. It’s all he can manage.

They sit like that for a moment that feels far too short to Midori, Shinobu eventually pulling back and taking a place once again at the other boy’s side-- this time notably closer.

“Midori-kun?” he mutters in question, voice quiet as if he’s steeling himself for the worst, “If you don’t mind me bringing it up, what did you mean before? That it’s not your choice to be up at such a late time? Now that you’re aware of my reason, de gozaru.”

Midori sighs for what feels like the thousandth time that night, letting himself fall onto the sand, arms outstretched and back against the ground. He doesn’t want to open up, not really, but there’s something with Shinobu’s presence that soothes him, that encourages him to bear his entire being. It’s the complete opposite of what he feels when Chiaki’s around, yelling and smiling and jumping around carelessly. They’re not that different, the two of them. That knowledge alone brings him peace of mind and allows his mouth to break more unspoken barriers in the secrecy of the night.

“It’s just… It’s how things work with me,” he tells the boy, eyes tracing the stars now instead of the waves, “I forgot something at home, and it’s hard for me to sleep without it.”

“A mascot, perhaps?”

Eyes are on Shinobu now from his low vantage point, brow furrowed in confusion. “N… No, that wasn’t meant to sound that awful, de gozaru! It was simply a lucky guess! I’ve seen how you act with Shinkai-dono and Anzu-dono’s mascots and I just assumed…” He scrambles around to settle on his knees, bowing deeply in front of the other boy, head against the sand and hands splayed before him. “Forgive me, de gozaru!”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t thinking anything bad,” Midori tells him, eyes softening as he watches the other try to make up for a mistake he never made, “I just didn’t realize anyone noticed me like that… I’m not really that important. I’m--”

“Please don’t say that Midori-kun!”

The shout from the other boy interrupts him mid sentence and, for the second time tonight, Midori is startled. Shinobu has pushed himself up, looking down at him with a wide eye and determination to get his feelings across. “Of course you’re important! There are five sides to every star-- without you, we wouldn’t be unit, de gozaru! You’re the green healing flame of Ryuseitai! Even if you might not feel it, we need you, de gozaru!”

The silence returns, only the sounds of nature around them to fill the background, and the taller boy isn’t sure what to say. Aqua meets gold and Midori can see those very flames of hope he’d been imagining moments prior stare him down before wavering.

“Ah, that was out of line too, de gozaru! I’m sorry, Midori-kun, it’s--”

Midori pushes himself up on his elbows, refusing to break eye contact. It stokes the fire lit in his chest, and he doesn’t want that feeling to fade just yet. “It’s fine, Sengoku-kun. I understand.”

Shinobu nods, sitting back on his heels. Midori, in turn, closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. Even with all of these outbursts, all of this time together, he feels no closer to sleep than he had before. Just as he’s about to give up, say he’ll just spend the night out here alone, that Shinobu should return to the cabin and get the sleep he's unable to, the smaller boy speaks.

“If you’d listen to me, I think I have a solution to both of our problems, de gozaru!”

\- ☆ -

Midori is awoken the next day by a too loud and impossibly cheerful Chiaki Morisawa in his ear, and a lightly snoring Shinobu Sengoku in his arms.


End file.
